U.S. News – Best Lawyers, a publication of U.S. News & World Report, has once again named Vedder Price “Law Firm of the Year” for Equipment Finance in its annual “Best Law Firms” rankings. Only one firm per legal practice area receives this recognition.

Vedder Price achieved top-tier status for two practices—Admiralty & Maritime Law and Equipment Finance Law. Below is a complete list of the practice areas in which Vedder Price was named a National Best Law Firm. Click here for the firm’s profile in U.S. News & World Report.

Tier One

Admiralty & Maritime Law
Equipment Finance Law

Tier Two

Banking and Finance Law
Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Corporate Law
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Employment Law – Management
Health Care Law
Labor Law – Management
Litigation – Bankruptcy
Litigation - Intellectual Property
Litigation - Labor & Employment
Patent Law

Tier Three

Commercial Litigation
Land Use & Zoning Law
Mutual Funds Law
Real Estate Law
Trademark Law

At the metropolitan level, Vedder Price has been ranked as a “Best Law Firm” in the following practices areas:

Chicago

Tier One

Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Commercial Litigation
Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Employment Law – Management
Health Care Law
Labor Law – Management
Litigation – Bankruptcy
Litigation - Intellectual Property
Litigation - Labor & Employment
Patent Law

Tier Two

Corporate Law
Real Estate Law

Tier Three

Land Use & Zoning Law
Trademark Law

New York

Tier One

Admiralty & Maritime Law
Equipment Finance Law

Tier Three

Litigation - Labor & Employment

San Francisco

Tier One

Banking and Finance Law

Tier Two

Employment Law – Individuals

Tier Three

Corporate Law

Washington, D.C.

Tier One

Equipment Finance Law

Tier Three

Mutual Funds Law

Los Angeles

Tier Two

Criminal Defense: White Collar

Vedder Price is pleased to announce that a multidisciplinary team of Global Transportation Finance and Investment Services attorneys advised SKY Leasing, a full-service aviation asset manager, in its strategic partnership with M&G Investments (M&G) to launch a $300 million aviation asset investment fund, with M&G investing operating capital into SKY Leasing in conjunction with the launch. The fund is expected to provide approximately $1 billion of capital to invest in new and current generation aircraft.

As servicer to the fund, SKY Leasing will focus on providing fleet solutions for its longstanding airline customers through the acquisition of current-generation and next-generation Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

Global Transportation Finance Shareholders Raviv Surpin and Clay C. Thomas and Investment Services Shareholders Joseph M. Mannon and S. Jay Novatney led the team from Vedder Price.

“This multi-faceted transaction showcases Vedder’s market leading skillsets in both aviation finance and investment services,” said Mr. Surpin. “I’m proud to have partnered with my colleagues to bring our client’s landmark equity investment to a successful close and look forward to the opportunities this new strategic partnership allows for SKY Leasing in the future.”

Vedder Price is pleased to announce that it represented Stonebriar Commercial Finance (Stonebriar), an Eldridge Industries business and a leading independent large-ticket commercial finance company, in connection with its private placement of $150 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes due 2024.

Kevin A. MacLeod, Shareholder and Head of the New York Capital Markets Group, led the team at Vedder Price, stating, “We are proud to support Stonebriar’s efforts to grow and diversify the company’s funding sources with its inaugural issuance of unsecured notes.”

In addition to Mr. MacLeod, the Vedder Price team included Global Transportation Finance Shareholder Geoffrey R. Kass, Tax Shareholder Matthew P. Larvick and Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits Shareholder Chris T. Collins.

The notes have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), or the securities laws of any jurisdiction. The notes were offered and sold only to investors in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

Vedder Price Labor and Employment attorneys Amy Bess, Sadina Montani and Meg Inomata were recently honored at the Community of Hope’s Night of Hope: Voices of Our City annual celebration on October 3 in Washington, DC. Ms. Bess, Ms. Montani and Ms. Inomata received the Tom Nees Award for Exceptional Service, which recognizes long-standing, deeply-impactful service to Community of Hope and the women, men and children who turn to the organization for help.

Community of Hope is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to create opportunities for low-income families in Washington, DC, including those experiencing homelessness, to achieve good health, a stable home, family-sustaining income, and hope. Named in honor of Community of Hope’s founder, Tom Nees, recipients of the award have displayed a commitment to the organization’s goals and significantly given back to those most in need within the Washington, DC community.

“It is an honor to be recognized by such an outstanding organization that fights to improve the lives of Washingtonians,” said Ms. Bess. “Community of Hope provides much-needed support to those in need in our community. It is extremely rewarding and gratifying to support Community of Hope’s work in the community behind the scenes,” added Ms. Montani. Ms. Inomata concluded, “I’m honored to be recognized along with two exceptional female leaders of our firm and in our community who are helping to advance Community of Hope’s mission.”

To read more about Community for Hope, click here.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a mandatory Internet-based electronic registration process for employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for beneficiaries that may be counted under the regular cap or advanced degree exception. The new regulations, as proposed in January 2019, will go into effect for the 2021 Fiscal Year, though further delay is possible. This means that for the upcoming H-1B Cap season, companies will be required to register their company and the intended beneficiary online with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). DHS has proposed a $10 fee for each electronic registration. The registration process is not required for cap-exempt H-1B petitions.

While the process is new, the federal regulations provide a good idea of what the process may look like. The registration period will begin at least 14 calendar days before the first day of filing in each fiscal year. As the first filing date is on April 1, 2020 for the upcoming fiscal year, the registration period will open no later than March 18, 2020. The Registration period will be announced to the public at least 30 days before it opens, or by February 17, 2020. The results of the selection will be communicated to registrants and their counsel at the completion of the selection process.

USCIS will conduct a random selection of all of the registrations received during the initial registration period. The number of registrations selected will be greater than the 85,000 visas allotted each year—the actual number selected will be based upon historical data. The number selected is generally between 95,000–100,000 and accounts for denials, rejected petitions, and the likelihood of some employers to change their minds and not file a petition. In the unlikely event that insufficient registrants are received during the initial period to fill the fiscal year quota, USCIS will open an additional period. If sufficient registrations are received during the initial period to fill the quota, but additional visas become available later in the year, unselected registrants from the initial period will remain on reserve for the applicable fiscal year. However, unselected registrants will not carry over to the next fiscal year; employers will be required to re-register for unselected beneficiaries the following year.

During the initial registration period, the beneficiary’s start date must be October 1, 2020 (the first business day of the fiscal year). An employer will only be allowed to register once per beneficiary to prevent abuse of the system. Further, the registration will include an attestation by the employer that they intend to file an H-1B petition for the listed beneficiary. Multiple prospective beneficiaries cannot be listed on a single registration and employers cannot edit a registration once it has been received by the USCIS.

The registration process will require the company to provide the following information: (a) the employer’s name, FEIN and mailing address; (b) the employer’s authorized representative’s name, job title and contact information; (c) the beneficiary’s full name, date of birth, country of citizenship, gender and passport number; (d) if the beneficiary has obtained a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution; and (e) information regarding the employer’s attorney.

If a registrant is selected, USCIS will notify that registrant and his or her attorney (if applicable) that the employer is eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition on behalf of the named beneficiary within the designated filing period. The notice of selection will indicate a filing location and the designated filing period during which the H-1B petition must be filed, and provide instructions on how to file the petition. Employers will be provided a period of at least 60 days to properly file a completed H-1B cap-subject petition for the named beneficiary. For example, the filing period may run from April 1 to May 30, from May 1 to June 30, or other 60-day period as determined by USCIS that allows them to efficiently process the cap-subject petitions before the requested start date. Employers will not be permitted to substitute beneficiaries. A selected registrant who does not file a petition on behalf of the named beneficiary within the assigned time frame will forego the eligibility to file during the active fiscal year.

The process as detailed above does portend some significant changes. Most significantly, employers may now wait until they have been notified of selection before submitting a Labor Condition Application to the Department of Labor and preparing the corresponding H-1B petition on behalf of the beneficiary named in the selected registration. This should mean a more cost-effective H-1B Cap season for employers, as well as an H-1B cap season with more certainty, as employers will be able to better predict, earlier in the process, how many H-1B employees they are likely to be able to employ in the coming fiscal year. Employers are encouraged to contact immigration counsel to determine a satisfactory timeline for the preparation and execution of planned H-1B cap-subject petitions.

Bottom line, it is important for H-1B employers to be aware of this new process and to understand the implications it will have on their future use of the H-1B visa program.

If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed in this article, any other immigration matter, or employer compliance issues, please contact Sara B. DeBlaze +1 (312) 609-7534, Ryan M. Helgeson +1 (312) 609-7729, or any Vedder Price attorney with whom you have worked.

Intellectual Property Shareholder Daniel H. Shulman will be the Chairman of, and present at, the International Performance Management Institute’s (IPMI) IP Law & Management Institute on November 3 – 5 in Los Angeles, CA.

The conference is designed to enhance the expertise of Intellectual Property professionals from various organizations and industries across North America by providing an opportunity to network and discuss legal issues affecting IP. The conference will be attending by high ranking corporate IP professionals from companies such as Apple, Broadcom, Microsoft, Estee Lauder, Honeywell, NBC Universal, Ricoh, MetLife, JPMorgan Chase, and others.

Mr. Shulman will Chair the event and deliver an address entitled “Looking Beyond The Mirror—What Every In House Counsel Wishes Every Outside Counsel Knew” in which he will provide a reflection from a former outside counsel who spent the last dozen years in house as Chief IP Counsel, and is now back as outside counsel to win clients using the Golden Rule—don’t do anything for a client you would not accept yourself if you were in their shoes. Mr. Shulman will give insight on how he attempts to look beyond the mirror to clearly see his clients’ perspectives.

Additionally, Vedder Price is a proud sponsor of the conference.

To learn more about the IP Law & Management Institute, click here.

Global Transportation Finance team Shareholder Cameron A. Gee will present at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Hong Kong 2019 Conference on November 4 – 6 in Hong Kong, China.

This conference brings together leaders in the aviation industry, from airlines to investors to aviation companies, to network and exchange ideas.

Mr. Gee will speak on Current Developments in Aircraft Pre-Delivery Payment Financing Transactions.

Additionally, Vedder Price is a proud sponsor of the conference.

To learn more about the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Hong Kong 2019 Conference, click here.